Giraffe Tosses Dead Wildebeest Around in Bizarre Pictures

This strange behavior, spotted in Kenya, may have a perfectly healthy explanation.

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A male giraffe tosses a dead wildebeest into the air in Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya.

Photograph by Corinne J. Kendall

Typically perceived as gentle giants munching away on leaves, giraffes may be due for an image makeover.

A few years ago, Corinne Kendall photographed a shocking incident involving giraffe and wildebeest in Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve and recently provided the images to National Geographic.

“I watched two adult giraffes kneel down and mouth the carcass, as well as actually lift it off the ground and then drop it,” says Kendall, who has received funding from the National Geographic Society for her work on vultures.

Why Giraffes Snack on Bones
July 6, 2017 - These giraffes are feeding on something that may seem incredibly unusual—the bones and skull of a buffalo. Normally herbivores, giraffes feed on bones to get much-needed calcium and phosphorous. They also regularly consume antlers, horns, and ivory. The bones are rarely swallowed directly. The giraffes use their saliva and teeth to dissolve nutrients. The rare sight was filmed in Idube Game Reserve in the Sabi Sand Wildtuin, Greater Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Scientists suspect both instances are a form of osteophagy, or bone-eating, which likely provides plant-eating mammals with skeleton-enriching elements such as calcium and phosphorus. Phosphorus, for instance, is not found in plants but is necessary for life.